Conquest
by Frosty Wolf
Summary: War is not just about defeating your opponents. It's about obtaining victory by any means neccesary. Now Shirou is drawn into a larger scale of war and has to win if he means to fulfill his dream. To be a hero. Shirou/Harem
1. Preparing for War

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any other series that may be represented within this story.

Here is something that I had promised myself I would not do, especially when I already have a major project that I am working on for this series. But ever since I started playing Fate/Extra this idea wouldn't leave me alone. So I'm going with it and writing out what's come to me.

It takes Fate/Stay Night, mixes in a couple of Fate/Extra components with a few of my own ideas, and this is what came out. That said, this will be a more serious version of events compared to Fate/Extra and a greater number of Servants and Masters than Fate/Stay Night. And of all the times to post a new story, I thought, why not it do on New Year's Day!

For the rest of my thoughts, see the bottom of the chapter. For the start of my newest project, just keep reading.

* * *

><p>Chapter One: Preparing for War<p>

There were a number of mysteries left in the modern world.

Most people knew this, but didn't fully understand it. Even scientists and other kinds of researchers didn't know about the depth of the secrets that still existed. Only Magi, existing in what amounted to their own society, knew how many things were left to discover in this world. This was part of the reason so many magi were researchers to this very day. But not everything was done for the sake of knowledge. And in their arrogance, magi have uncovered things that may have been best left unknown.

Whether or not the Holy Grail is one of things is a matter of debate. But many people were willing to risk their lives for the reward that it represented.

Unfortunately, not every magi was able to understand what the Holy Grail was or the depths of its power. And in their quest to control a power they did not fully understand, they forced what may have been the most powerful artifact to change and evolve its method of selection.

What happens next is a result of those changes and those who sought to overcome them.

* * *

><p>Shirou Emiya had not been having a good time of it lately.<p>

For the last several days, he had been experiencing hot flashes. But in addition to the uncomfortable heat, there was a flash of pain that seemed to consume his entire body. Afterwards, his body would ache and he would be left in a cold sweat when the heat left.

Fortunately, these flashes of pain never lasted more than a second. The pain leaving just as quickly as it appeared and the aching would fade after only a few minutes. A lucky thing for him, otherwise he wasn't sure if he would be able to function properly. He had actually felt worse when he had first started to use magecraft, when he had been converting his nerves into makeshift circuits. Fortunately for him, his stepfather had noticed what he was doing shortly after his lessons started and stopped him from doing any more damage to himself that way.

If he hadn't, who knows what level his abilities would be at right now?

On a similar note, his current guardian had noticed that something was wrong with him and taken him to see a doctor. As he expected, the doctor had not been able to find anything wrong with him. He was almost certain that whatever was happening to him was due to magic, with the way his circuits were subtly reacting to whatever was happening, though he was a bit touched that Taiga had realized that there was something wrong with him.

In reality, it had been his friend Sakura who had noticed something was wrong and brought it to his guardian's attention, but she hadn't felt a need to tell him that.

The doctor had prescribed him an antibiotic and advised him to drink plenty of liquid and rest until the flashes passed. That was the reason he had stayed home from school today, despite the obsession his guardian had with his school attendance. Understandable, once you considered that she was a teacher.

That was also the reason Sakura was toiling away in his kitchen, making dinner for the two of them and his often hungry guardian. Missing out on cooking, something that he usually enjoyed doing quite a bit bothered him a lot more than missing school.

Taiga wasn't here right now, but that didn't surprise him very much. She was a teacher after all, as immature as she could be at times. But she would be here soon.

She had the uncanny ability to show up just before the food hit the table.

He had tried to help out, but Sakura had been firm in keeping him resting and out of the kitchen. He'd finally relented when she pointed out the possibility of him passing along whatever he had to them if he worked on the food they were going to eat.

Not having a way to argue that fact, without revealing that he was a magus and all, he had gone back to his room to study. Besides, if he had an attack while he was working on dinner there was a chance of him accidently ruining the meal or lighting something on fire.

The bang of his front door being flung open broke him away from his studies.

"Sakura, is dinner ready yet?" The booming voice of Taiga Fujimura was clear even through his closed bedroom door.

With a sigh, he placed his biology book off to the side. Even if he wasn't able to help cook right now, he owed it to Sakura to try and keep Taiga out of the kitchen. A feat made difficult if you were trying to cook at the same time.

* * *

><p>The meal had been a good one, he had to admit. While Sakura may not have been quite as good as him, it was a close thing and he had no complaints as he dug into the meal she had worked so hard to prepare. Though with a bit less gusto and a little more grace than his guardian managed. Mixed in with a bit of lighthearted conversation and it felt like a typical meal for the three of them.<p>

Caught up as he was in his meal, he was caught completely off guard when another attack came.

While he may have been a bit more used to pain than the average person, he wasn't able to contain a brief cry of agony. His companions instantly forgot about their own meals as his utensils hit the table, his hands digging into the wood to keep him from falling out of his seat.

The fact that he didn't have any food in his mouth was probably the only reason he wasn't choking. As it was, he could only sit there and wait for the pain to fade again. He couldn't even find the energy to answer the concerned questions of his dinner companions.

It took almost twenty seconds, but this attack faded just like all the others had.

The smile he gave the girls beside him to try and convince him of this wasn't as successful as he would have hoped. Though if he could see how weak it looked, that wouldn't have surprised him.

"You're going to get changed and go to bed Shirou," his guardian's voice was unusually strict. "And tomorrow, I'm going to take you to see a specialist. I don't care what the doctor said."

"I'll clean up here Sempai," Sakura piped up. "I can take care of anything else you need, so don't worry about it."

Feeling surrounding on all sides, and still feeling the effects of his most recent attack, Shirou didn't put up much of a fight before he was herded back to his room. Perhaps some rest would do him some good after all.

And while he was lying down, he could at least take some time to consider what was happening to him.

* * *

><p>The next day did not provide the answers that he was hoping for. He had gone over his, admittedly limited, knowledge of magic to try and think of what was happening to him. So far, the only thing that had come to mind was that he had been placed under a curse of some kind. But that was unlikely for several reasons.<p>

The first was how difficult it was for magi to be placed under a curse at all, due to their own magic interfering with the spell. The second, he couldn't think of anyone that would have cared enough to put him under one. He knew there was other magi here, but didn't know who they were.

The idea that someone was doing this in an effort to get even with his long deceased stepfather was much more likely, but anyone that he had pissed and held a grudge so long after his death would probably have done worse to him.

The specialist he had been taken too had been very thorough, but he didn't expect any helpful results from them. He suspected Taiga had used some of her families more questionable connections to get an appointment so quickly with them. But this was one situation where he really didn't have a good reason to complain.

Sakura had made him breakfast, for the third time in a row. Something that was honestly starting to frustrate him, but he couldn't think of a way around it. He had suffered two more attacks that morning, within the space of three hours. The quickest they had ever come. The pain had taken longer to fade as well. But he had figured out that the heat was coming from his circuits, though he couldn't figure out what was happening to them. Had he done something to affect them?

He was starting to think whatever was happening would kill him.

Right now, he was alone in his house. Taiga had gone back to school after bringing him back home and Sakura was likely still there. He had already completed the homework Taiga had left him, so he was just watching television now. He had found an old movie on the life of Merlin and was watching with some amusement.

The amusement disappeared when his world disappeared in pain again.

Unlike before, the pain didn't vanish after a few seconds. Instead, his world faded to red as he lost even the ability to scream. He didn't even realize his body had begun to glow as he writhed on the couch.

Then everything faded to black and he knew no more.

* * *

><p>The world slowly came into focus; the way his entire body seemed to throb with his heartbeat didn't help the matter at all. After nearly a minute, Shirou felt he was in enough control of his facilities to get back on his feet. He also took the time to look at his new surroundings.<p>

It was a small room, about the size of his living room but without any real furnishings. The white rug and light blue walls did give it a slightly more inviting feel though. The only other thing of note in the room was a white, wooden door standing at one end.

Trusting himself not to collapse getting there, Shirou carefully made his way to the door. He wasn't sure how he had gotten here, or even where here was, but there was no reason for him to wait here like this.

The hallway outside the room was plain, with an almost sanitized feel to it. Plain white walls and a tiled floor left him feeling like he was in a hospital. Something that would have made sense if he woken up in a hospital bed. With no other doors in sight all he could do was slowly tread forwards. It was strange, not being able to see the end of a single hallway.

After several minutes, another door came into sight. Half expecting someone to have come up behind him, Shirou risked a glance over his shoulder. But the hallway was as clear as it was when he had come down it. Sighing, he shook his head.

Strange as the situation was, there was no reason to treat it like something out of a horror movie. He should never have let Taiga drag Sakura and him to that movie last semester. Honestly, he had real reason to be frightened by vampires. He didn't need fake ones too!

Though the way Sakura had latched onto him had been pretty nice.

Shirou reached the door before he could get too far into those kinds of thoughts. Turning the knob, it seemed a bit odd that neither of these doors had been so much as locked. But if it helped him get out, who was he to complain.

The room on the other side was almost…inviting. Blue walls, a cream colored carpet, and a number of furnishings made it feel a bit like someone's living room. But more important than any of these things was the person sitting in center of the room!

Perched on the couch was a young woman, looking somewhere in her early twenties. Brown hair and eyes framed a rather attractive face as she smiled at him. Her uniform was very dark. Black pants, boots, and blouse with a blood red tie. All around, she was rather pretty looking.

"Hello there young man, please take a seat." Her voice was calm as she gestured to a comfortable looking chair sitting across from the couch she was sitting on. Looking at the seat, Shirou decided to stay on his feet as he questioned the woman across from him.

"Who are you?" It was best to get the simple stuff out of the way first.

"I am the guide for your evaluation. Please, take a seat."

Shirou stared at her a little while longer, a gaze the woman across from him easily met. Slowly, Shirou took the seat that had been offered to him. He clearly wasn't in control of the situation, but nothing had been done to him yet, so it might have been best to go along with the strange woman for now. Once he was seated, the woman continued.

"The evaluation is carried out in three parts. Passing all three of these tests will grant you status as a master in the Holy Grail War."

_Well that explains everything,_ Shirou thought to himself, uncharacteristically bitter. But he shook it off quickly. He had questions and was going to get some answers!

"What's the Holy Grail War?" Best to get the basic stuff out of the way first, then he'd be a little closer to getting out of here.

"The Holy Grail War is a competition in which magi compete for the Holy Grail." An explanation that didn't really explain anything, Shirou noticed.

"Why am I being forced to compete?"

"All who attempt to summon a Servant are brought here to be tested."

"But I didn't try to summon anything," Shirou protested. To no avail it would seem, as the woman across from him didn't react to his objection.

After a few moments of silence, Shirou continued his questioning.

"How do I get through these tests?" He should probably humor her for now, especially if it would get him home sooner.

"The first test is through the door to my right. To pass, you have to return with the emblem at the end of the hall."

Looking to his left, Shirou saw that there was another door. This one was light brown with a white moon across the center of it. If it would get him out of here, he'd pass some stupid test. Getting to his feet, one more question came to mind.

"What happens if I fail?"

"Failure in the trials results in the death of the applicant," this grim pronouncement was given in the same tone as everything else had been. Something Shirou couldn't help but find unnerving.

After giving his odd host a moment to say something else, Shirou resigned himself to getting through the test he had been assigned.

* * *

><p>The hallway in front of him seemed to have been made from some kind of polished stone. Between that and the light fog that seemed to hover around his waist gave the hall an almost supernatural appearance. An odd thing for a magus to think, he supposed.<p>

Moving slowly through the fog, Shirou noticed that the only illumination seemed to come from the light glow of the mist around him. Leaving the ceiling cloaked in shadows.

He got so caught up in the mist, that he almost didn't notice the pit he was about to step into.

Barely noticeable through the mist was a black hole where the ground simply seemed to disappear. With one foot over air, Shirou panicked and threw himself backwards. Unfortunately, he used more force than was strictly necessary, landing hard on his back with a wince.

Rolling over to his knees, Shirou cautiously reached out with his hand. As he expected, his hand met nothing but air. And as intently as he tried, he couldn't see the bottom of the pit he had nearly fallen into. Reaching around did show him where the floor remained on either side of the hole. Getting gingerly to his feet, Shirou walked around the pit. Moving forward, he kept a much closer eye on his surroundings.

What followed was a series of drops and hidden weapons that wouldn't have looked out of place in a video game.

Crawling on his stomach to avoid being cut in half by an enormous pendulum, Shirou didn't feel any sort of amusement with his current situation. And worse, he didn't know any magic that might have helped him either.

Leaping over a pit that covered the entire length of the hall in front of him, Shirou finally found the end of the hall. Embedded in the wall in front of him was the emblem he had been forced to find. It was the left half of a circle, with a sliver of moon imprinted on it. The emblem itself looked like it was mad from bronze, though it felt a lot lighter than it looked when he carefully pried it off the wall and turned it over in his hands.

"That wasn't so tough," Shirou muttered at he put his hard earned prize in his pocket.

As if the world was simply waiting for him to say that, the hall began to rumble around him. Realizing he might have celebrated a bit prematurely, Shirou turned around and bolted for the entrance.

On the bright side, the traps had stopped after he got the emblem. So he wasn't dodging blades and stone columns while he went for the exit. On the downside, the floor was collapsing under his feet as he went. The already existing pits slowly getting wider as he went. Twice he almost stumbled into a hole rushing for the exit, awkwardly throwing himself side to side to avoid the drop.

After a minute of frantic running he got to the exit. Throwing himself against the door, he fumbled with the handle before getting it open. Rushing into the room, he slammed the door shut behind him as if afraid the collapse would catch up with him. Panting, he leaned against the door while he waited for his heart to calm down. His odd host watched him collapse the same way she had watched him before.

Getting to his feet, Shirou resisted the urge to wince. While he hadn't actually gotten injured, his muscles were burning from his brief run and his skin was iterated from where he had brushed against the hard walls and floor. Ignoring that, he made his way to the chair by his host. Reaching into his pocket, he held out the emblem to the woman in front of him.

"Very nice," she complimented as she took the item from him. "You have passed the first trial."

"It was…" Well, he wasn't sure what he could call it in mixed company. Instead, he decided to keep things moving.

"Can we just move on?" The woman in front of him nodded.

"Yes, you have passed the first challenge and now you may move onto the second. Proceed through the door on your right when you wish to proceed."

Turning, he saw that there was a door there. One he was sure hadn't been there earlier. A glance to the other side of the room showed a blank wall where he had taken the door to the first challenge.

Making a note of that particular oddity, Shirou cautiously made his way to the door. Wondering what bizarre test he would have to face next.

* * *

><p>Instead of a hallway, the door opened up to another room. Though this one was far larger than the one he had just come from. The walls and ceiling here looked they were made from glass, though the floor was made from the same white tiles that the first hall he'd entered. The entire room had the impression of being held somewhere at the bottom of the sea, because on the other side of the clear glass walls was what looked like the ocean!<p>

Weary of what seemed to be billions of gallons of water surrounding a small glass room, Shirou inched his way inside.

In the center of the room was a single glowing sphere, an orb of golden light that bobbed up and down in an invisible breeze. As benign as it looked, Shirou didn't think this test would be any less life threatening then the last one.

He was proven right when a small hole opened up near the ceiling on the far wall and water started gushing in to fill the room. More than a little frightened, Shirou did the only thing he could think of and lunged for the glowing ball in front of him. The sphere responded by dancing playfully away from him. Water already reaching his ankles Shirou kept going after it.

The chase that followed was every bit as frantic as the escape from the hall had been. While the ball he was chasing wasn't especially fast, Shirou was slowed down by the rapidly filling water levels. Once could only go so fast when they were slogging through waist deep water. He actually gained a bit of speed once he was able to start swimming, but the orb danced just out of reach.

The rising water levels also added a new dimension to the struggle. Instead of moving from side to side, the small orb would dive under water only to rise again a short distance away.

Pausing to catch his breath, Shirou turned and watched the small ball why he tried to float. Oddly enough, the ball hadn't stop moving. Instead it moved in what looked like a random pattern.

Once he had finished catching his breath, Shirou watched the ball continue and a pattern quickly formed in his mind. Meanwhile, the ceiling was only a few feet above his head. So Shirou made his move.

Diving under the water, Shirou waited where he thought the orb would approach. And seconds later, the ball dove and sped in his direction. It seemed to move much faster underwater than it did above it. As if just now seeing him, the ball tried to slow down. But turning didn't seem to be something it did well underwater. Reaching out, he felt a rush of satisfaction as he grasped the warm object.

Looking up, he felt a brief moment of panic when he realized the water had reached the ceiling. And he was running low on air already. Fortunately, grabbing the orb seemed to have triggered some kind of drain, because the water levels quickly began to fall. Once his head was above water, he let himself be brought back down to ground level with the water.

Once his feet found the floor again, he looked at the item he'd caught. Instead of a glowing ball, it had transformed into the other half of the emblem he had gotten earlier. Made out of the same odd material, it had the imprint of a sun rising over a hill.

Slightly unsteady, he made his way to the door. He wanted a chance to sit down.

* * *

><p>Wandering back into the room, Shirou glanced at the door behind him. He watched in some amazement as the door seemed to lose its color and meld into the rest of the wall. That was an interesting trick.<p>

Wearily, he took his seat, feeling about a bit cold in his drenched clothes. He was surprised when the woman across from him raised her hand. It was the most pronounced gesture she had made since he had gotten here.

A moment later, it was like a blast of hot air had rushed over him. Slightly flushed, he saw the water leave his clothes and body in a short burst of steam. The woman in front of him lowered her hand back to her lap when he was dry.

"Thank you very much." Consider how easily she spoke of his death, this was a level of courtesy that he honestly hadn't expected.

"I am capable of offering medical aid and other basic services such as clothing repair to all applicants in between trials," was the matter of fact response he got.

Shirou rolled that over in his head for a minute; he was in no hurry to take another test after almost drowning like that.

"You mentioned other applicant, which means other people took these tests as well?"

"Correct."

"How many other people have been through here?"

"Since preliminary evaluations began four days ago, there have been fourteen applicants including you."

That also matched up to when he'd starting having those attacks, but didn't explain why he'd had them.

"And how many of those people passed?" He hadn't forgotten her admittance of death resulting from failure.

"Six individuals have passed so far."

Shirou felt a chill go down his spine.

"And the other seven…died?"

"Correct," the grim announcement was offered in the same tone as everything else. He was starting to wonder if the woman across him felt anything at all!

"And this is just going to keep going?" He all but demanded. The guide didn't take any noticeable offense to his tone or words.

"Until all twelve spots are filled, applicants may continue to apply."

Waiting to see if she would continue, he wasn't surprised when she simply stared at him for two minutes. Sighing, he handed her the other half of the emblem.

Taking it in hand, his host left her seat on the couch for the first time since he had arrived. Turning away from him, she walked towards the wall his seat had been facing, the one wall where no strange door had appeared or disappeared. Taking the other half of the emblem from her pocket, she placed the two items together with a clink. Once that was done, she placed the completed circle against the wall where it promptly fused into the stone.

Honestly, he had kind of seen this coming.

"You are the first person to pass the first two tests without using any magic or magical tools."

Shirou couldn't stop himself from blushing, though he wasn't sure how that fell on the compliment insult scale.

In front of them appeared a set of old fashioned double doors, something that would not have looked out of place in an old fashioned country home. The emblem he had risked his life to create was fused into the wood, leaving behind a wavy impression of gold and silver where the two doors met.

Shirou faced his host for may have been the last time. "Do you have any advice for the last test?"

"Don't die."

It could have been worse advice, he supposed.

* * *

><p>The final room had an almost…medieval feel to it.<p>

It was a large circular room made out of stone. The kind of room you would have expected to find in an old fashioned castle. Illuminating the room was a series of torches attached to the wall, their flickering fires providing a decent amount of illumination. Like the other rooms, there was nothing really in the way of furnishings. But there were a large object sitting in the center of the room.

Human shaped and standing over six feet, it was made from what looked like bronze. In its left hand was an enormous broadsword, nearly four feet in length and three feet across. Tightly clenched in its left hand was a round shield, more than three feet around. The rest of its features lacked any real detail, save for the crude looking helmet perched on top of its head.

Shirou smiled as the figure began to lumber towards him.

This was a challenge he was ready for.

The creature before him was slow, sturdy, and probably very resistant to magic. But he wasn't reliant enough on magic to be worried about little details like that.

Despite being the stepson of the famous, or infamous, Kiritsugu Emiya, he didn't know many spells that would help him in a fight. Not too surprising, considering how reluctant the man had been to involve him in his world in the first place. But he did have one idea for dealing with the golem in front of him.

Shirou spent the next several minutes testing the range and flexibility of his new opponent. As he expected, the golem was slow but struck with great force, swinging wildly with his sword and at one point nearly taking his head off with a swing from the shield. Eventually his opponent overextended himself with an overhead swing and stumbled forward slightly, so Shirou made his move.

Reinforcement, an advanced application of magic used to strengthen an object. It was probably the most advanced technique he knew, not that he knew too many, and one he used occasionally when making repairs.

But it was possible to reinforce an object too much, destroying the object that you were trying to make stronger. And that's exactly what Shirou did here.

Rolling to his feet, Shirou reached out and touched the golem's right arm and then he flooded it with prana. The already unnaturally perfect metal didn't last as long as a normal object would have, so even Shirou was surprised when the arm broke so quickly at his touch. He stayed that way long enough for his opponent to spin around and clip him with its shield while he tried to dive out of the way.

Rolling with the blow, Shirou was sure a large bruise was already forming on his shoulder. But he got to his feet before it could come back in for another blow. Or worse, try and crush him.

Without its main weapon gone, it wasn't hard for Shirou to find a hole in the golem's defenses and reach for its head. Afterwards, the animated statue fell to the floor with a crash. Watching to it see if it would stay down, Shirou was satisfied when it remained on the ground.

Wincing, he rolled his shoulder. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off he was really starting to feel that hit. If it had struck him head on it probably would have broken his arm.

Considering the last test completed, Shirou made his way for the door.

The woman in the other room had mentioned that she provided medical service.

* * *

><p>Wow, that was a chapter that just wouldn't end. I'm a little unsure about the ending, but I needed to get through this to get on with the real story.<p>

Now, as is the usual case for me, I will conclude this chapter with a few notes.

First, I will repeat what I said above. This story was inspired by Fate/Extra, which I just recently got my own copy of. It will include elements from Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Extra, and several others, some of which will be my own creation.

Second, this does not mean that The Holy Grail Tournament, my other story for this category, has been cancelled yet. I may even use elements from one story in the other.

Third, the Shirou in my stories knows about and is able to use the circuits he has been born with. I always found it a little annoying that Shirou seemed to go from one extreme to another over the course of Fate/Stay Night.

Fourth, this is in fact a harem story. I am not sure who will be in the harem right now, but I do have a rough idea. On a related note, there will not be any Yaoi in this story. I do not read it, I do not write it. But I can't shake the feeling that I'll need to reiterate that somewhere down the line.

Fifth, I know that not everything in this chapter will make sense right now. I don't expect you to understand everything yet. Explanations will come in the next few chapters.

Sixth, the characters that I created for this chapter is not going to be a big part of the plot, she and the others like her are my version of NPC's created by the Holy Grail to supervise the war. Which should help explain why her answers seemed a bit automated, it was intentional.

Seventh, I head back to college on the sixteenth. I hope to update once or twice before going back, but even outside of class I have a number of things I need to take care of. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens in regards to updates. Sorry, but priorities are what they are.

Eighth, what did you think of the challenges I made. I know they weren't all that hard, but I wanted them to be potentially life threatening without being too hard, strange as that probably sounds. To be fair, Shirou is a rookie right now, even if he is a bit better at magic than he was in canon.

Ninth, I hope the challenges were interesting. But there are only so many ways to say duck and dodge for the first test to be interesting. Same with the second test, this was meant to be a sort of mental challenge, but that would have been boring to just read about. The last test was the most straightforward, but it felt a bit rushed.

Tenth, the Holy Grail War that I am creating here will have a total of twelve Masters. This is to help balance out the much higher number of Servants I'm going to have. I do not plan for any of the Masters to be OC's, so don't worry about that. That said, anyone with a character idea is free to submit it.

Eleventh, I've got a few ideas for a few different series right now and I hope to publish several of those stories sometime in the future. So keep a lookout for those and you might see something you like.

Twelfth, I'd considered leaving the last challenge out as a cliffhanger, but as you can see it didn't last very long. And honestly, I wanted to get through this part pretty badly.

Thirteenth, I try to keep the magic here as accurate as possible to canon. So if you see any glaring errors, let me know. I try and keep things accurate in a number of areas.

Fourteenth, I am trying to increase my aver chapter length to about six thousand words. So that may slow me down a little, but not too much.

Finally, I will end the first chapter of my newest story like so many authors do. Please take a moment, leave a review and tell me what you thought of my story.


	2. Explanations and Preparations

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or any other series that may be represented within this story.

All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the response I got for the first chapter. I got a decent number of reviews, along with a bunch of favorites and story alerts, so I think I can label it a success. Though there a few things I'll need to go back and fix later.

I'd like to offer a special shout out to EVA-Saiyajin for being the first person to review this story. I hope you and everyone else who reviewed continue to read and enjoy my work.

Fair warning, there's a bit less action in this chapter than was in the last one. But there are a few things that need to be explained, like the changes that I'm making to the Holy Grail War. Shirou will also summon his first Servant, and I think we all know who I'm talking about. I can't help it, she's one of my favorite characters in the series and I love the pairing.

For the rest of my notes, see the bottom of the page. For the start of the second chapter, just keep reading.

* * *

><p>Chapter Two: Explanations and Preparations<p>

Cradling his injured arm as best he could, Shirou slowly walked back into the room. With some surprise, he found that his temporary host was waiting in front of the door instead of back in her seat. She was still smiling, but somehow the expression seemed more genuine now than when she had done it earlier, or maybe it just his imagination.

"Congratulations," she greeted him, the barest hint of something in her tone. "You have passed the trials and earned your place as a Master in the Holy Grail War."

"Does this mean I can go home now?" His expression showed that his patience was begging to wear out; his injured arm wasn't helping his mood in the slightest.

"You will be allowed to leave in a short time. There are a few things that must be done first, but you are no longer in any danger here."

Shirou wasn't sure he believed that, but was willing to go with it if it meant getting out of here.

The woman before him reached out and touched his damaged arm. Shirou hissed slightly as the damaged muscle and ruptured blood vessels were quickly restored to their original state. But he decided that wasn't a big deal when his arm stopped aching afterwards. Her job done, the woman let go of his arm and walked towards her seat.

Sitting back in her usual place, the woman clasped her hands and bowed her head. She almost looked like she was in prayer. But before Shirou could ask her what she was doing, the world around them began to fade.

Unable to help himself, Shirou let out a yell as the world around him simply seemed to fade away into nothing. Shining briefly in the darkness, he and his guide disappeared as well.

Useful as it could be, Shirou was really starting to hate being moved like this.

* * *

><p>Disoriented, Shirou couldn't stop himself from falling to his knees as the world came into focus again. Fortunately, there was carpet under his feet so his landing wasn't too rough. His guide, on the hand, had landed gracefully in a comfortable looking chair. Groaning, Shirou got to his feet.<p>

"What just happened?" Shirou was half expecting something to try and kill him, despite what she'd told him just a few short moments ago.

"With the completion of the trials, you have been brought to the proper battlegrounds of the Holy Grail War. Here you will summon a Servant, obtain information and receive the equipment all participants will be granted. I will be here to answer any questions you may have."

Looking the room over, Shirou sat himself in a comfortable looking recliner. As much as he tried to role with the punches, he still felt pretty lost. Thinking over what she said, he tried to choose his questions carefully.

"What is a 'Servant', exactly?" That word seemed to hold serious relevance here.

"A Servant is the shield and sword of the Master, and their greatest asset. I would recommend waiting to ask more questions until you summon one, as the Servant may have questions of their own."

The last part of her sentence made Shirou blink.

"Wait, is the Servant human?" That would make some sense.

"In most cases the Servant is human, yes."

Mouthing the words 'most cases' he watched her pick up a box from the small table to her left. It was a small thing, looking something like an old fashioned music box. But there was no music when she opened it, only a small glowing stone.

Shirou lacked in certain areas of magic, but one thing he didn't lack was the ability to sense magic. And from this range, Shirou could feel the energy coming off the small rock. His attention was taken off it when his guide began to speak again.

"This is a Soul Stone, the artifact that will allow you to summon a Servant. Is there a catalyst that you wish to retrieve before you perform the summoning?"

"A catalyst," he parroted. He knew what the words meant, just not in regards to this situation.

"A catalyst may be used during the ritual to influence the type of Servant summoned, or the class of the summoned Servant."

"What if a catalyst isn't used?"

"Then the Servant summoned will be the one who is the best match for the one who did the ritual," was the matter of fact reply he got.

Shirou considered the matter for a moment before shrugging. To his knowledge, he didn't have anything that would affect a ritual like this. And he didn't want to take a chance by using a random item. Taking the gesture for what it was, the woman held the box out to him. Stealing himself for whatever came and rising to his feet, he grabbed the stone.

The stone was warm, and grew warmer still in his hand. He could feel the stone slowly draining his prana reserves as the glow brightened. He also found out that he couldn't release the stone, his fingers unresponsive when he tried. When the glow finally grew too bright to look at, the rock turned to dust in his hands and scattered, while a circle of runes appeared on the ground beside him. The glow of the runes brightened as energy exploded above them, highlighting a figure.

The woman that appeared before them took his breath away. Blonde hair that seemed to be spun from gold framed a pair of stunning emerald green eyes. Most of her body was covered by an odd armored dress that ended in a metallic skirt around her legs. The light of the ritual gave the woman an almost divine appearance.

The glow eventually faded, along with the markings on the ground. The supernatural appearance of the woman faded, but she retained an aura of dignity and authority that he couldn't explain. Her eyes stared into him as she seemed to silently judge him until she finally spoke.

"I am the Servant Saber. In accordance to your summoning, I have come. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Still staring, Shirou managed to swallow the lump in his throat. He should have expected something like this, he supposed. But his hand began to burn before he could start to answer her. Knives seemed to stab through his hand as a glow shone from his skin. When the light cleared, the pain faded and three sword shaped tattoos remain in their place. The red markings stood out very clearly against his tanned skin, taking up a good portion of the back of his hand.

The newly summoned Servant looked at the markings and nodded to herself, apparently satisfied with what she saw.

"From this day forward, my blade shall be in your hands while your fate rests in mine. With that, our contract is complete."

The speech was delivered with the tone of someone used to authority and seemed completely serious on her part. Shirou was actually grateful when his host broke the silence between them. He hadn't been sure how to respond to her announcement.

"Congratulation's, you have successfully summoned a Servant. I will now outline the first phase of the Holy Grail War."

"Who is she?" Saber cut in before Shirou could respond. The blonde woman looked tense as she sized up the woman sitting a short distance away. The guide took this with as much stride as she had taken everything else, watching them with a smile.

"She said she's the guide for the test I had to pass to enter the war," Shirou informed his new Servant.

"Has she attempted to harm you?"

"Not directly," he kept going when she gave him a questioning glance. "The tests would have killed me if I'd failed them, but she wasn't there when they did."

Saber stared at him for a few moments before turning her attention back to their host. Her stance was less hostile, but seemed more than a little defensive. Like she was just waiting for the woman to make a wrong move before she went after her, or she expected her to attack them, it spoke of a level of caution that he found extreme.

Shirou decided to get things moving again. "You said that this was just the first phase of the war, right?"

"Correct," the woman nodded, seemingly ignoring the Servant now.

"How many phases are there?"

"I am not allowed to reveal that at this time."

Shirou frowned, while she hadn't been the most helpful person she had never refused to answer a question like this. Saber simply narrowed her eyes slightly from her spot beside him.

"How long does the first phase last?"

"The first phase will last for exactly one week after the final master has passed the trials and summoned their Servant."

Shirou did a few quick calculations in his mind. This woman said that he was the seventh Master, after testing had begun only four days ago, so filling the remaining five spots wasn't likely to take very long. He didn't want to think about how many more people would die before those positions were filled. Fortunately, Saber chose to move things along.

"Why don't you tell us what you need to before we continue questioning you?"

It was phrased as a question, but it felt more like a command.

"The first phase is meant to allow the Master and their Servant to gain experience and begin to regain their Servants strength before combat with other Masters begins. With this in mind, the first two phases are divided into four divisions. You are the first Master of the southern division; the next two individuals who complete the trial will join you while the final three move onto the western division."

Saber wasn't sure what she meant by 'regain their Servants strength' but held her tongue.

"The city that we are in now will be the main battlefield of the Holy Grail War for the time being. The city itself is divided into four sections, which are separated by barriers that cannot be passed and will be lowered when the third phase begins."

Shirou nodded, trying to keep up. There were six other Masters, but they were separated from him right now, and would stay that way for a while. He was here to help Saber get stronger and was confined to a certain part of the city he was apparently in. This again, would stay that way for a while.

"This phase can also be used to acquire more Servants. But each Servant will need to regain their strength and must be supplied with energy to maintain them. Finally, violence against other Servants and Masters, direct or indirect, is forbidden during this phase. Do you have any questions?"

Shirou opened his mouth but was cut off by his new comrade. "What do you mean by, 'acquire more Servants'?"

"There are a total of forty-nine Soul Stones available during the Holy Grail War. Including the twelve provided to each Master after they pass the preliminary evaluations. At this phase, there are five hidden within each district."

"So my Master could summon a total of five additional Servants in this phase."

Their host nodded. "Or he could summon none of them. It depends on how many you find and whether or not you decide to use them. Each stone activates at a touch from the Master, so moving them for later use is an option."

"How am I supposed to get home," Shirou cut in before Saber could keep going.

"You will be provided with an artifact that will allow you to move between this world and your own freely. It will be provided to you shortly."

"What did you mean when you said Servants must regain their strength?" Saber piped up when Shirou seemed finished.

"Because of the increased number of Servants, the statistics, personal skills and class skills of each Servant have been brought down to their lowest levels. Regaining that strength can be done by defeating enemies, including other Servants."

Shirou looked at Saber, the woman nodded when she met his gaze. Taking that as a sign to ask his own questions he continued the conversation.

"What are these?" He waved his marked right hand towards the woman.

"Command Seals, they mark you as a Master and are a tool for use in the war. Three are obtained each time a Servant is summoned, though they can be obtained in other ways as well."

"What do they do, exactly?"

"They allow you to give your Servants an absolute command, an order that cannot be defied and can even force Servants to surpass their own abilities or break the laws of reality to complete. Such as teleporting to their Masters side from wherever they are."

Shirou looked at the impressions on his hand for a moment. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of having that kind of power over other people, but he could deal with that when it came up later.

"Is there anything else?"

"Within this city are hidden items. Magical artifacts, information on different magical techniques and spells, even treasure is scattered within the city. There are also hidden worlds where more of these items are held. They are marked by symbols on the ground and should be easy to locate."

"Just how big is this city?" Shirou asked, slightly overwhelmed by what was being offered right now. Learning new spells was something he had wanted to do for years but never gotten the chance.

"It depends on the stage. With each phase the battleground will expand and new hidden worlds will come into existence."

"Are there other individuals like you here?" Saber had relaxed slightly, but wasn't ready to trust this odd woman. Something about her seemed…unnatural, odd as that was for Servant to think.

"There several individuals here that deals with maintenance and other trivial tasks. Each of us wears the same uniform and is not to be attacked or intentionally harmed. Doing so will result in a penalty."

The pair took a moment to let that sink in. Shirou wasn't sure he liked the idea of being around so many mechanical people like this, but he doubted they would cause him trouble if they were all like her. Saber was simply wondering how many people she would need to be watching for. She was against the idea of so many eyes on her and her new Master for several reasons.

After the silence stretched out for a few more moments, their host actually took the initiative in their conversation.

"If neither of you have any more questions we should precede to the next room where I can give you your equipment."

Wanting to keep things moving and get home before his guardian came back to find him gone, Shirou quickly agreed with her. Saber simply nodded, and moved to keep the woman and her new Master in sight as they left the room.

The hallway they passed through could only be described as extravagant. Shirou really didn't have anything to compare it too, but it felt like he was passing through a western style palace. Complete with tiled floor, paintings, and columns. There were windows here as well, which showed extravagant grounds between the building and an impressive looking wall. The grounds looked very well maintained, and having assisted with such chores in the past, Shirou had some idea of how much effort a task like that would take. It also gave him an impression of how large the building he was in must have been.

"You are welcome to explore the keep, though you are currently limited to the southern wing."

"What is this place?" Sabers voice didn't hold any real awe, but he thought even she was a little impressed by what they were being shown.

The room they were finally led into was a bit larger than the one they had left, but it felt more like a storage room. But instead of the clutter and messiness that most people would associate with a room like that, there was a clean and sterilized feel to the room. It was almost like he was in the storage room of a hospital. Walking over to one wall, his host picked up a small wooden box that had been sitting peacefully on a shelf.

Nothing about the box drew attention to itself, but his guide seemed certain that this was what she was looking for.

The first item removed from the box looked like some kind of necklace. From a gold chain hung an oval shaped coin, embroidered with the same symbol that made up his command seals. Around the outside of the emblem were small white jewels, possible diamonds. He wasn't very familiar with jewelry, but he thought it looked expensive.

"This will be the main tool you will need in order to strengthen your Servant. It is called an amplifier."

Shirou looked at it for a moment before looking back up to his host. "Does it come in any other forms?"

While he didn't put much stock in accessories, he didn't want to wear a necklace if he could avoid it.

Saber gave him an odd look while the woman took the pendant away and brought out a wrist-watch. On the back of the clock was the same symbol that was imprinted on his hand. Around the clock face were the same white jewels that had been on the first item.

It seemed more like something a boy would wear, which made Shirou happy.

"This artifact will absorb the strength of fallen enemies and allow you to give it to your Servant. The process will be shown to you when it has absorbed some energy to be used."

The next item was slightly more mundane looking. A hand mirror, made up of a dark brown wood and glass was offered to him. There were no markings that he could see, but he knew better than to judge an item on its looks when they were magical.

"This artifact is known as a gateway, it will allow you to move between this world and your own. By applying prana you may transport yourself and anyone in contact with you between worlds. The artifact itself will only work within the keep or in your world, but it can be left here when you are out."

Shirou had to resist the urge to grab the mirror and do just that, only the knowledge that he was almost out of here kept him from doing just that. Saber looked at the artifacts with an odd look. These items hadn't been present during the last war, but the knowledge from her summoning said that things had changed somehow. Finally, she shook her head.

It didn't matter. For now, she would keep her Master safe. She would deal with the rest as it came.

The last item the woman brought out actually made Shirou blink. It was a small handheld computer he had seen some of the other, better off, students at school use.

"This is the Mystic Tablet. It contains information about yourself, your Servants, and other files about the Holy Grail War and related elements. It will be used to send messages to you; it may only be used by you or one of your Servants. Like the other artifacts, it is extremely resilient to magical and mundane damage. Do you have any other questions?"

Shaking his head, Shirou pocketed the watch and the small computer. The mirror was laid out on the table to his right, while he prepared to get home.

"Then I wish you the best of luck. If you need anything in the future, you may ask me or one of the other assistants within Sanctuary Keep."

Focusing his prana on the mirror, Shirou felt a spinning sensation as he began to move. Not noticing his Servant place her hand on his shoulder, he did hear the parting words of his guide as the world seemed to vanish around him.

"And welcome to the Holy Grail War."

* * *

><p>The landing in his living room was slightly more graceful than his exit had been. Due to the fact that he wasn't in incredible pain and had expected the trip this time. Not graceful by any stretch of the imagination, but he stayed on his feet. Stumbling, he made his way to the couch, the events of the day were catching up to him and he was tired.<p>

It was only after he'd sat down that Shirou realized he wasn't alone. The blonde woman he had summoned was taking in their new surroundings, still wearing that strange armored dress from before.

With some embarrassment, he realized he had been ignoring her earlier. Clearing his throat, he got her attention.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask earlier. What's your name?"

"You may call me Saber," the woman responded promptly. "You have yet to properly introduce yourself, Master."

"You don't have to call me that," Shirou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "My name is Shirou. Please, make yourself at home."

"Very well, Shirou." Saber turned her attention back to his home.

Looking at the clock, Shirou realized that it had been just over two hours since he'd left. Fortunately for him, that meant Taiga and Sakura were still at school. That gave him a little over an hour to try and sort the situation out.

That was what he thought until the phone began to ring. Picking it up, he barely got the phone to his ear before his guardian's voice screamed at him through the receiver.

"Shirou, where have you been? Why didn't you answer when I called you earlier?"

Holding the phone away from his ear while Taiga ranted, Shirou made out a few things. Apparently she had tried to call him earlier in between classes last period and he hadn't answered. Thinking quickly, he tried to explain things.

"I'm sorry; I must have been asleep when you called earlier?" He hoped Taiga would accept his explanation.

"You were asleep," her tone was doubtful, but no longer as upset.

"I didn't sleep well last night with everything that's happened. So I ended up falling asleep on the couch earlier."

"I'm glad you got some rest then. Are you feeling better now?"

"I haven't had any more attacks," since he had been placed in mortal danger for those tests at least. He still wasn't sure how, but he knew the two were related somehow.

"Good! I'll come by to check on you once school lets out. Sakura has something to take care of at home so I'll bring dinner too." She hung up before Shirou could object to that. Sighing, he put the phone back on its cradle. He could wait one more day before he started cooking again.

Looking back to Saber, he found his Servant watching him curiously. He was grateful she hadn't interrupted when he was on the phone. It would have been a mess if Taiga had heard a girl's voice in the background.

Like the disaster it would be if she found a girl here when she came over after school…

"Shirou," Saber unknowingly stopped a train of thought that could have triggered a full blown panic attack. "If you are finished, we should begin discussing our plans for the Holy Grail War."

That's right; he had been dragged into some kind of war. He had pushed it to the back of his mind earlier, but he had been drafted somehow. Now he had to deal with things.

Settling themselves in the kitchen, Shirou and Saber faced each other. Not sure how to begin, Shirou waited for Saber to say something. The Servant seemed happy to get the ball rolling.

"Now that we are here, what is your plan?"

Good question, now that he was involved his life would probably be put at risk again. So it was better for both of them if he had a plan. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure where to go from here.

"I don't really have a plan," Shirou began awkwardly. "I was kind of dragged into this, so I wanted to hear your thoughts before I decided anything." Not that he had a clue of where to go from here, but this sounded less foolish.

Sabers expression, which had tightened slightly when he admitted to not having a plan, brightened slightly when he asked for her opinion. Saber didn't seem like someone who was used to expressing herself, but she seemed to be trying with him.

"Very well Shirou," Saber began. "There are changes from this war and the last one, so certain plans used back then may not work now. As the war has not officially begun, we should take this time and reinforce our position. Summoning an additional Servant or two may be beneficial while we begin to restore my former strength."

Shirou nodded to himself as he went over her words. It wasn't a great plan, but there wasn't much else that could be done right now. It would be good to have another ally or two as well. But the first thing she'd said really stuck out to him.

"You were involved in the last war?" Saber frowned, but answered the question.

"Yes, but circumstances were different then. There were only seven Masters and Servants; there was no way for Masters to summon more. These and other changes should be taken advantage of as soon as possible."

"Well we can't do anything today," Shirou admitted. "I'm exhausted from those tests earlier and my guardian is coming by later to check on me."

"Very well," there was no point in getting to work while her Master was exhausted after all. It could put them both at idea of someone having easy access to him or their new home made her uncomfortable. But she would wait and reserve judgment until she met this person.

"But I need you to stay hidden while she's here. Okay?"

Saber frowned, she didn't like where this was going. "Why would that be necessary?"

"Because my guardian would throw a fit if she found a girl here like this. She's normal…relatively speaking, so she doesn't know I'm a magi or anything. So I can't explain why you're really here."

Saber could understand the need for secrecy, approve of it even, but she didn't like the idea of being hidden away like that. Not only was it a security risk, it felt too much like how her last Master had treated her.

"Can't you simply give a different reason for my presence here?"

"Like what?" Shirou was open to the idea if they could come up with a decent enough reason.

"You could say that I am here to watch over you while you recover, if you're sickness was that severe." She had overheard his conversation with his guardian earlier.

Shirou tossed the idea around in his head for a moment before declining. It wasn't a bad idea, but there were too many ways for it to be exposed. All it would take was a call and the doctor or someone else would say that no one had been sent over. Saber didn't exactly look like a nurse anyway, and he didn't want Taiga to get more concerned then she already was. They needed something that Taiga couldn't disprove if Saber was going to stay in the open.

Running a few ideas through his head, Shirou chose to voice the one he felt had the smallest number of holes in it.

"We could tell her that you were at the hospital when I got looked over by the specialist, and needed a place to say now that you've been released. We can say you were in a wheelchair and just got out of therapy."

It wasn't plausible, but it was possible. Doctors wouldn't give out information on other patients and Taiga was less likely to complain about a girl being here after she'd just been hospitalized. Besides, taking in someone after they'd been hospitalized was something he might have done anyway.

Saber turned the idea over in her mind before nodding. "That could work, though it doesn't explain why I wouldn't be in my own home."

"We can say that you didn't have a way to pay rent for your apartment while you were in the hospital, so you lost it. You'll also need some normal clothes, but I'm not sure what to do for that right now."

Looking down, Saber closed her eyes as her body lit up with blue energy. Once the energy cleared, Sabers armor had vanished leaving her in. Now she was wearing a white blouse with a blue ribbon around her neck. A long blue skirt hung below that, coming down almost to the tops of the brown boots she now wore. All in all, she looked very nice.

A few other details were dealt with while they prepared for his guardians inevitable arrival. Afterwards, he picked up the tablet he had been given by that woman earlier and started looking through it. She said this thing had information on the Holy Grail War, and he wanted to know as much as could before it started. But before he could get into that, one last thing occurred to him.

"Would you like a snack?" She hadn't eaten since she'd gotten here, so he decided to make the offer. It would give him an excuse to make something anyway.

For the first time since she'd arrived, she gave him an honest smile. One that seemed to make her entire face light up as she happily accepted his offer.

"That would be nice."

* * *

><p>I did the best I could, but this was mainly a filler chapter. Not sure I'm happy with it, but we had to get through it at some point. Now, I will conclude with a couple of after chapter notes.<p>

First, I write these chapters in Microsoft Word and then upload the chapters to post. So to anyone pointing out grammar or spelling mistakes, the program didn't pick up on them or they were intentional. Not that my writing is perfect, I just need you to be more specific when mentioning mistakes. I endeavor to grow and improve as an author after all.

Second, the Shirou in this story also has Avalon in his body, just like he did in canon. So really, there was no other Servant he could have summoned under these circumstances. Doesn't mean all other Masters will have the same Servants though, just saying.

Third, I have not decided who is going to be in the harem yet. I have a rough idea, but that will come as I build up the characters themselves. I can say that Saber will be in it though; she's one of my favorite characters.

Fourth, for a recap of the rules shown for the first stage, check below in the glossary I've made. I'll have files like these whenever I think we need them. Servant profiles might be consistent to show their growth though.

Fifth, the world the trials were held in and the world he was transferred too are based around the concept of a Reality Marble, which should help answer a few questions.

Sixth, the Soul Stone is my own creation, as are certain other things in this story. It's a summoning ritual confined into a stone that is required to summon a Servant in the Holy Grail War. Some might recognize it from my other FSN story. Ask permission on the off chance anyone actually wants to use it in their own stories.

Seventh, I do not have a beta and do my own proofreading. While I do fairly well this way, I do make mistakes. If you see them, please let me know what they are. I keep a record of errors that have been brought to my attention. Every few chapters, I go back and do minor touchups to my work.

Eighth, just like in canon, Servants who are summoned are programmed with certain information. But here it's not only with modern knowledge, but information about the changes in the Holy Grail War, which should help explain while Saber wasn't so surprised by some of the things she was hearing.

Ninth, yes I provided the means for forty-nine Servants to be summoned, but I doubt I'll show every one of them. There are unused Servants from other Fate lines, so many of them will be brought out for this.

Tenth, feel free to ask if you have any questions you have. I try to respond to every to every review and message I get. If enough people ask a particular question I might even make a note of it to explain the situation to everyone.

Eleventh, I hope I made it clear who was talking at any given point. I wanted to keep the conversation real, and avoid any annoyingly large blocks of text. Those are never fun to read, in my opinion.

Twelfth, Shirou will summon other Servants. I haven't decided who yet, their classes, or even how many, but there will be at least two more Servants joining him and Saber. Not sure if he'll work with Rin or any other Masters yet though.

Thirteenth, I'm considering adding links to pictures on my profile. You know, so that people can better visualize what I'm working with here. Would anyone look at them if I did?

Fourteenth, I'm back in school as of the ninth, which will most likely affect my update speed. I have five classes this semester, all bachelors' level. But never fear, I will write when I find the time.

Fifteenth, the explanation Shirou came up with isn't perfect I know. But I was trying to come up with something original. This is what I managed. If too many people complain, I'll try to improve on it when I touch up earlier chapters when I'm a bit farther ahead.

Finally, I will conclude my notes the way I always do. Please take a moment and let me know what you thought of my work. Your feedback means a lot to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Mystic Tablet Compendium!<strong>

**Information**

**The Holy Grail War: **A free for all battle between Masters in their Servants, fighting to claim the Holy Grail and earn a wish from the all-powerful artifact. Changes have been made after the fourth war. Prospective Masters must now be tested, and there are many more Servants taking part. The war itself occurs in this world and a false world created by the Holy Grail.

**The Holy Grail War, Stage One:** The opening stage of the war beings when all twelve Master spots have been filled and lasts exactly one week from when the twelfth Master is confirmed. Masters are divided into groups of three, and placed into the northern, eastern, southern, and western divisions, in that order. In this stage, conflict between Masters and Servants is forbidden. This is the time to strengthen the newly summoned Servants and make other preparations for the war.

**Soul Stones: **The reagent required for the summoning of Servants within the Holy Grail War. Resembling nothing more than a small white stone, this item is meant to make it more difficult to acquire a servant and at the same time marks new Masters for the Holy Grail. This item will activate at contact with any human that has active Magic Circuits and requires little prana to work.

**Amplifiers: **Artifacts that store the energy from defeated enemies in order to empower the Servants of the Master they are bound too, usually in the form of some kind of accessory. Coming in several forms, two things remain the same for each form. An imprint of the Masters command seals, and jewels for the energy to be stored in.

**Gateways: **An artifact that acts as a portal for Masters and other individuals to move between the real world and the false world created for the Holy Grail War. When moving between worlds, it will return to user to wherever they were in the other world when it was activated. It may be used anywhere in the real world, but only in Sanctuary Keep in the false one. Like amplifiers, these come in many forms, but usually resemble mundane household items.

**Mystic Tablet: **In simplest terms, this is amagical computer loaded with information about the Holy Grail War. Powered by mana, the artifact updates automatically where appropriate and can only be used by the Master that it is assigned too and their Servants. Meant to be unbreakable, the shell and screen and made from permanently reinforced materials to prevent damage.

**Current Servant Profiles **

**Saber**

Identity: Arturia Pendragon

Class: Saber

Master: Emiya, Shirou

Alignment: Lawful Good

**Stats**

N. Phantasm: E

Strength: E

Agility: E

Mana: E

Luck: E

Endurance: E

**Class Skills**

Magic Resistance: E

Riding: E

**Personal Skills:**

Charisma: E

Instinct: E

Prana Burst: E

**Noble Phantasms:**

Excalibur, Anti-Fortress: A++

Invisible Air, Anti-Unit: C

**Generic Information**

Gender: Female

Height: 154 cm

Weight: 42 kg

The Sizes: 73-53-76

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Green


End file.
